Leveraging Your Intergenerational Workforce for AVHRA

AVHRA Business & Law Update December 10, 2014

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Stacy Luckensmeyer

� Wenatchee Valley College Center for Entrepreneurship

�  Serial Entrepreneur

Reimi Marden � Owner/Founder of The Winning Edge, Image Consulting and Corporate Training Firm

�  25 years in the Training & Development industry

� Extensive experience in the hospitality and gaming industries – designing training for hourly to Executive level team members

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Goals for Today: � Review the generational mix � Highlight generational similarities and ways to leverage differences

� Discuss strategies to improve retention through enhanced recruitment and employee engagement

� Share best practices for employee training design and delivery

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Focus on “why” generations see things differently,

not “what” those differences are.

-‐ Haydn Shaw Sticking Points: How to Get Four Generations Working

Together in the 12 Places They Come Apart

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Social History at a Glance

Core Values

Family

Educa>on

Communica>on & Media

Dealing With Money

Tradi>onalists Ages: 69-‐96

Respect

Authority

Discipline

Tradi>onal

Nuclear

A dream

Rotary phones

One-‐On-‐One

Write a memo

Put it away

Pay Cash

Tradi>onalists

Baby Boomers Ages: 50-‐68

Op>mism

Involvement

Disintegra>ng

A birthright

Touch-‐tone phones Call me any>me

Buy now, Pay later

Genera>on X Ages: 34-‐49

Skep>cism

Fun

Informality

Latch-‐key kids

A way to get there

Cell phones Call me only at work

Cau>ous

Conserva>ve

Save save save

Genera>on Y Ages: 19-‐33

Realism

Confidence

Extreme fun

Social

Blended

An incredible expense

Internet

Picture phones

Email

Text messaging Earn to spend

Genera>on Z Ages: 5-‐18

Prac>cality Stability Tolerance Community Make it happen

Changing household structures

Most educated genera>on ever but…. Image Sharing Crea>ng From 2 screens to 5 Balance digital & live

Conserva>ve It will be there I will leverage yours

A recent Time magazine article on the Millennials offered this quote from a forty-‐something writer:

“Veteran teachers are saying that never in their experience were young people so thirstily avid of

pleasure as now…so selfish.”

The source of the quote?

A letter published in The Atlantic in 1911.

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Workstyles at a Glance Workstyles

Communica>on Style

Problem Solving

Decision Making

Leadership Style

Feedback

Tradi>onalists Ages: 69-‐96

Top-‐down

Hierarchical

Seeks approval

Command and Control

No News is Good News

Tradi>onalists

Baby Boomers Ages: 50-‐68

Guarded

Horizontal

Team informed

Get out of the way

Once Per Year

Genera>on X Ages: 34-‐49

Hub and spoke

Independent

Team included

Coach

Weekly / Daily

Genera>on Y Ages: 19-‐33

Collabora>ve

Collabora>ve

Team decided

Partner

On Demand

Genera>on Z Ages: 5-‐18

Collabora>ve, Global

Collabora>ve, Innova>ve

Team decided, Ownership

Consensus; empowered

Expect It

Characteris>cs of Each Genera>on � Key Influences

� Expectations & Work Styles

� Communication Preferences

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Benefits to Building Your Mul>-‐Genera>onal Team

� Productivity �  Stability � Company Culture

Workforce at a Glance

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Recruitment

� The generational aspect of your recruitment plans � Generational appeal can weather many storms

�  Economic changes �  Population shifts

� Using generational differences to your advantage

What are they looking for? � Traditionalists (69 – 96) � Boomers (50 – 68) � Generation X (34 -‐ 49) � Generation Y (19 -‐ 33) � Generation Z (0 -‐ 18)

What do they have in common?

Your Approach to Recrui>ng

� Be Flexible � Offer Diverse Experiences and Challenges � Evolve with the Workforce � Engage Top-‐Choice Talent

Statistics from Gen Y: 38% selected ‘opportunity for advancement’ as one of their top

three must-‐haves 42% placed ‘relationship with peers ‘ as one of the top reasons for

getting or keeping their job. 32.7% preferred colleagues to be of different ages

Reten>on � Employee Engagement � Employee Satisfaction

Engagement Strategies � Acknowledge shared needs � Create a sense of teamwork that spans generations

� Give employees meaningful and ongoing feedback � Recognition and reward � Adopt participative decision making and problem solving

� Update company policies / unwritten rules

Training Design & Delivery The most powerful tool to build commitment -‐-‐-‐

�  Offering regular opportunities to learn and develop — not just through training, but through a variety of challenging tasks

�  The opportunity to work with people who impart valuable knowledge, and regular developmental feedback.

�  As it turns out, this is how you build commitment in employees of all ages.

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Learning Styles Tradi/onalist & Baby Boomers

Gen Xers Gen Y/Millenials Gen Z

Classroom Facilitated Independent Collaborated/Networked

Values tradi>onal training Instructor-‐led, Classroom-‐based learning programs

Willing to adopt technology based learning formats (i.e e-‐learning that provides greater flexibility)

Relies heavily on collaboration with peers as a form of learning.

Content can be accessed through technology anywhere, and ogen in very visual, engaging forms

View educa>on and training as a perk or a way to get ahead of the pack Life long learner

Expects con>nuous access to training and business communica>ons

Expect to have access to technology; learning needs to be hands-‐on, interactive, collaborative, and fun.

Teaching and learning is designed to accommodate the needs of the student, is cri>cal

Best to use them as classroom instructors or mentors

Prefers short, highly-‐ focused training that can be quickly downloaded and accessed via mobile phones, PDAs, or MP3 players.

Responds well to the engaging, compe>>ve nature of games and simula>ons and already is accustomed to using informal social networking tools, such as wikis, blogs, podcasts

Discussion and applica>on of the content is cri>cal, learning takes place outside the classroom, but the essen>al engagement and prac>ce is s>ll conducted at school.

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Training Design & Delivery � Revise learning approaches to accommodate the younger workforce

�  Seek Blended Learning Methods

�  Seek Active Learning Methods

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Mix of Training Modali>es � Coaching: Up and down / Influence

� Mentoring: Bonding younger and older workers

� Giving Feedback: Frequent / on-‐going / celebrate accomplishments

�  Stretch Assignments: Encourage employee

engagement

� Classroom and online delivered courses

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Team Building Ac>vi>es to Strengthen Cohesion &

Performance

(See Appendix)

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Areas for Ac>on

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1.  Acknowledge generational differences. 2.  Focus on the “why,” not the “what,” and the common needs.

3.  Leverage the strengths of each generation.

4.  Decide on approach to meet the needs of your people.

5.  Evaluate and modify approach.

What ac>on steps will you take?

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What We’ve Accomplished Today: þ Reviewed the generational mix þ Highlighted generational similarities and ways to leverage differences

þ Discussed strategies to improve retention through enhanced recruitment and employee engagement

þ Covered good practices for employee training design and delivery

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For more informa>on, contact: Stacy Luckensmeyer

Center for Entrepreneurship & Continuing Education Wenatchee Valley College

(509) 682-‐6915 [email protected]

Reimi Marden The Winning Edge (702) 645-‐5488

[email protected]

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Access Slides at Slide Share www.slideshare.net

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Resources 1.  "Consumer spending and U.S. employment from the 2007—2009

recession through 2022" by Stephanie Hugie Barello. 2.  Use Reward to Bridge the Generations Gaps and Your People, by

The Hays Group. 3.  It’s Not All About ‘Y’: It’s Time to Prepare for Generation Z,

Webinar by Alexia Vernon. 4.  PLACE INFO FOR THE 5 GEN GRAPHIC HERE. 5.  “Intergenerational Challenges at Work” slideshare presentation by

Boomer Match to Business. 6.  “Creating Synergies in a Multi-‐Generational Workplace” slideshare

by Katrina Plourde, SPHR. 7.  Quiz: How Milennial Are You? By the Pew Research Center 8.  “What is Employee Engagement?” article by Custom Insight. 9.  “Communicating Across a MultiGenerational Compus” slideshare by

Michelle Baker. 10.  “Three Reasons You Need To Adopt A Millennial Mindset

Regardless Of Your Age” article by Jean Meister.

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�  Training Tomorrow’s Workforce By Janice Ware, Rosemary Craft, and Steve Kerschenbaum http://www.kreativelearningsolutions.com/pdfs/Generational%20Dynamics/Training%20Tomorrow%27s%20Workforce_ASTD%20Pub.pdf

�  http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2014/ted_20140106.htm �  http://www.slideshare.net/BizLib/effective-‐employee-‐training-‐in-‐a-‐multigenerational-‐

workforce?related=1 �  https://hbr.org/2013/05/hitting-‐the-‐intergenerational �  http://www.teampedia.net/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Communication �  http://extension.psu.edu/youth/intergenerational/curricula-‐and-‐activities/

intergenerational-‐activities-‐sourcebook/download

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APPENDIX: Intergenera>onal Exercises

“You can discover more about someone in an hour of play than

from a year of conversation.” -‐ Plato

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Intergenera>onal Sweet Spot There is an intergenerational sweet spot we should aim for, a point of maximum engagement for all employees.

But we miss it by fixating on minor differences and

taking them out of context, and by failing to appreciate the similarities among employees of different ages.

-‐ Monique Valcour Hitting the Generational Sweet Spot

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#1 Strength Centered Comments Objectives �  Building a team spirit Helping each member feel valued Reinforcing

what is working well for the team Raising awareness of each person's contributions

Set Up �  Have a small group of 4-‐6 people be seated where they can see each

other (around a table or in a circle of chairs).

�  Introduce the ideas that: everyone makes contributions, large and small, to the team/organization; acknowledging each other's value is good for the person and for the whole team; this is not to compare people nor to put anyone "on the spot.”

�  Strength centered comments can be about single actions or ongoing ways supported by evidence (specific observation) of the person demonstrating this strength.

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APPENDIX: Intergenerational Exercises

#1 Strength Centered Comments Each should be very brief -‐ one or two sentences. “What I appreciate about you is your <strength>. I say this because…<site specific example of a time when the person demonstrated that strength>.” Give several examples of appreciations:

�  Linda, what I appreciate about you is your sense of humor. Today, you helped keep our group light and made our meeting fun. It’s a joy to work with you.

�  Joe, you are so positive no matter what is going on. At our meeting today, you brought out the advantages of what was happening instead of all that was going wrong. Thanks!

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# 1 Strength Centered Comments �  Say that the only response of the "receiver" of strength centered comments is to nod or say "thanks"

or "you're welcome" -‐ no denial or discussion at this time.

Instructions �  Give 5 minutes of quiet time in which each person can think about their strength centered

comments for others in their small group and jot them down.

�  Assure them that their notes are for themselves only. �  (Skipping this step may result in people being "not present" because of mentally composing what they

will say while others are speaking. �  It also helps prevent people from feeling anxious. �  Assure them that if they think of something different later, they are not bound by what they wrote.)

�  Ask for a volunteer for the first person to "receive” strength centered comments.

�  Each person around the table offers one comment to that person. The leader can help remind talkers to keep the comments short and on target, and for the receiver to just "take them in."

�  Go around the circle having each person receive appreciations from all others.

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# 1 Strength Centered Comments Debrief Suggestions: �  Have participants think about how they felt receiving strength

centered comments.

�  Alternatives: Instead of an in-‐person session, have each team member write their appreciations for each other person. These can be shared with all, either electronically or on a physical bulletin board, and refreshed periodically or on an ongoing basis.

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#2 Quick Talk Objectives: �  Participants explore the different slang or short-‐cut expressions used by

different generations. �  Heighten awareness of how our written and spoken language has changed

over the past 10 to 60/70 years. �  Facilitate effective intergenerational communication. Instructions: �  With all participants sitting together, the facilitator starts by speaking

briefly about how slang words can be shorthand communication, and then shares one or two favorite slang words.

�  The facilitator asks participants to give slang words for the word “wonderful” (ex. groovy, awesome). After the slang words have been shared, the facilitator should mention how slang is likely to vary across the generations represented in the room.

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#2 Quick Talk �  Begin creating a slang chart by making a chart (in PowerPoint or on a

flip chart) that is similar to the example below. Make sure to leave extra blanks for participants to offer suggested words for the left column. Participants can share slang words and work together to place the word in the appropriate column, recognizing that more than one generation may use the same word.

�  Discuss how the generations may be saying the same things, just using different words.

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#2 Quick Talk Quick Talk – continued

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#3 Common Ground Instructions: �  “With your small group, list as many things as you can think of that EVERYONE in the group has in common” �  Examples: “We are all wearing brown shoes.” “We are all the oldest sibling in our families.” “None of us have been to Europe.”

�  How many can your group come up with in 3 minutes? �  Key points: We can find similarities /”common ground” if we look for it. Finding the CORE values of our team members will give the team a place to “come from” and you collaborate and make decisions.

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#4 Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces Objectives �  Help teams think about collaboration, communication and strategy. Materials �  A jigsaw puzzle (Childs 100 pieces or less). One for each group. Size of group is adaptable.

Set Up �  Each team gets a puzzle to assemble.

Directions �  The goal for each team is to assemble the puzzle as fast as they can following the rules set forth -‐ e.g. highlighting

similar challenges teams face in working together in the company �  Give people time to work on it.

�  1st Round: The team is not allowed to speak to each other. �  2nd Round: The team is allowed to speak. �  3rd Round: The team is asked to plan their approach to assembling the puzzle before they begin.

�  Facilitate discussion about how this relates to what the group is doing in real life (i.e. how group is working together) Debrief �  How is this similar to what we are trying to do as a team? How is this different? �  Did you collaborate with other team members? Why or why not? How did that help or hinder your progress? �  What are the implications back on the job? �  So what? what do we want to take away from this?

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#5 Pin the Trait on the Genera>on Set Up �  Everyone will be given a card with a generational trait. �  Attach your card to the generation with which it is most closely

associated. �  We’ll discuss as a group -‐ be prepared to explain what you chose

and why!

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#6 Human Treasure Hunt Instructions:

�  Create a list of 15-‐30 statements to distribute to your group. �  Give the group a period of time to find people who meet different the criteria of different statements on the list.

�  When participants find someone who meets the criteria, they ask that person to sign their list.

�  At the end of the activity, read off the various statements and ask anyone who meets the criteria to stand up.

The list of statements makes learning about multi-‐generations fun and relevant to those they work with. �  Statements could include:

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# 7 Data Match Objectives �  Draw attention to how people of different generations often share interests and life experiences.

�  Promote casual conversation.

Steps 1. Preparation: �  Ahead of time, print copies of sheets of paper with the following questions written on them with a blank on each side of the question (or two blanks to one side). Additional questions can be added that follow a similar theme.

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# 7 Data Match 2. Play: �  Provide each participant with one sheet and ask them to fill out the

answers to the questions under the YOU column so that one side will be filled in.

�  Once everyone has answered the questions, have them move around the room and look for people who share the same answers.

�  For example, participants will want to find people born in their same month, people who have the same number of pets or who are also a middle child.

�  Once everyone is done, the group should sit down again and share some of the things that they learned.

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# 7 Data Match

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Leadership & Management

Leveraging Your Intergenerational Workforce for AVHRA